Chapter 481: Practice Match
Appraising the two adults and three children of the Hyuga clan who stood staring in complete, blank bewilderment, Ryo's face was completely etched with amusement.
Intending to take Sakura on as a disciple was strictly due to the Witness Points aspect of the equation. What on earth were these three children from the Hyuga clan doing by joining the crowd? Did they truly assume the Great Ancestor was holding a massive recruitment drive?
"Great Ancestor, are you choosing a daughter-in-law?" Tsukika shattered the quiet, her large eyes blinking with an adorable, innocent gaze. "Could it be that Tsukika did something wrong?"
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched violently: "You little rascal, you're trying to have your mom tear the Great Ancestor to absolute shreds, aren't you?"
"Hehehehe..."
Kushina didn't care much, stepping forward with a smile to scoop up Tsukika: "Tsukika, be good. The Great Ancestor is pushing 130 years old; finding a daughter-in-law isn't easy for him. Let's not make a mess of things."
Ryo: "..."
Seeing Kushina speak in that manner, Hiashi actually believed it. Glancing at the delicate, lovely countenances of his two daughters on his left and right, did he seriously possess an opportunity to become Ryo's father-in-law? This matter required meticulous, long-term consideration...
Hizashi, however, lightly patted Neji's shoulder, offering a sheepish smile to Hiashi and Ryo: "Then Senior, I will take Neji back first."
"Hold on," Ryo waved his hand to obstruct them: "Since you've already come, Neji looks quite handsome. He's exactly the type the Great Ancestor likes."
Hizashi: "..."
Within a mere five minutes of stepping inside Kushina's house, before Ryo had even agreed to guide them, Neji felt his absolute mastery over the Byakugan rapidly elevating, reaping immense benefits!
After a long while, Hiashi spoke tentatively: "Senior, you are cracking jokes with us, right?"
"You guys were the ones who initiated the joke with me first," Ryo chuckled. "Sakura came looking for me specifically because Naruto secured a leave for his training, and Kakashi is busy preparing for his wedding, leaving him with zero free time to guide her. But as for these three children, they have you two, and isn't having their own team sensei enough?"
"Neji's situation is identical to Sakura's," Hizashi hurriedly explained. "Tenten is currently training under Minato, and Guy's style can only be taught to Rock Lee."
Ryo given a subtle pause: "What about Hinata?"
Hiashi tilted his head, signaling Hinata to offer an explanation.
"Kurenai-sensei is leading Shino and some other Genin to the Hidden Sand Village in a few days to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams. I... have a vacation," Hinata spoke in a low whisper.
Ryo scratched his head. Right, only that unfortunate brat Shino wasn't a Chunin yet...
"Then what about this little one? Hanabi is still quite far from graduating from the Academy, isn't she? Is she currently in the third or fourth grade?"
"Fourth grade, but she can mimic the routine Hizashi and I used back in the day, coming to find you in the evenings," Hiashi explained. "Furthermore, her innate talent is excellent. If it becomes necessary, we can file an application with the Academy for an early graduation."
Ryo massaged his temples. The justifications prepped by them were exceptionally comprehensive. It was as if dropping a child off at his doorstep automatically guaranteed a boundless, glorious future, finding all sorts of alternative methods to stuff individuals into his hands, making him feel thoroughly... ~c~o~m~f~o~r~t~a~b~l~e~.
"Very well, herding one sheep is herding, and pasturing four sheep is pasturing. Taking them on is fine, I might as well since I'm at leisure!"
Pondering for a moment, Ryo granted his consent: "Hinata and Neji shall report to me tomorrow morning. As for little Hanabi... Academy life is quite pleasant, there's no rush to graduate early. The Great Ancestor is occupied in the evenings, so let her come on the weekends instead. She's still young, so she doesn't have an immense amount of details to master just yet."
Hiashi and Hizashi bowed in deep gratitude.
The next day, when Sakura arrived at Kushina's house cradling a massive box of mochi, Ryo was already waiting on the spot alongside Hinata and Neji.
Facing Sakura's highly confused gaze, Ryo spoke with a broad smile: "Neji, Hinata, the person delivering breakfast has arrived. Hurry up and eat; once you're finished, I will take you out to train!"
Sakura: ???
Hinata's face flushed a deep red as she stepped forward, whispering a soft explanation to Sakura regarding the logistics of the situation while offering continuous apologies.
"N—No, it's fine," Sakura felt a trace of disappointment in her heart. Teaching three individuals was bound to be structurally different from focusing entirely on one, but facing the sweet, gentle Hinata, she fundamentally lacked the heart to complain: "Then please take good care of me, Hinata, and Senior Neji!"
Neji gave her a firm nod.
Ryo chuckled softly, casting a thoroughly exasperated look over his shoulder at Kushina, who was currently peering through a crack in the door to spy on them. He waved his hand to signal her to go play on her own; this immediate territory had officially been occupied by the Great Ancestor...
"Since you've sought out the Great Ancestor to guide you, we must formally establish a baseline of titles. Neji, Hinata, over the subsequent duration, you two shall be designated as the Great Ancestor's unregistered, informal disciples!"
"...Unregistered?"
"That's correct. Throughout my entire life, the Great Ancestor has only ever accepted five official disciples, and I don't intend to expand that number. However, there are quite a few unregistered disciples under my wing. For instance, Hiruzen's father, Danzo's father, and even your two fathers... Eh?"
"Then what about me, Great Ancestor?" Sakura asked urgently.
Ryo waved his hand: "The Great Ancestor commands another tier of disciples—apprentices who follow me strictly to master a technical craft. Currently, only Obito and Rin populate that category. You shall officially become the third. The Great Ancestor will strictly teach you Medical Arts and absolutely nothing else. If you desire to learn alternative kits, you must find a way on your own!"
"An apprentice... like the Fifth Hokage?"
"That's exactly it. How else do you think he managed to ascend to the mantle of Hokage? Ahem, actually, no."
Clearing his throat, Ryo smoothly shifted the topic: "Sakura, in the future, you can address me as Master, but not as honored Master. Neji, Hinata, you two shall call me Teacher."
"Yes, Master (Teacher)!"
*Witnessed and significantly altered the Naruto world side plot: Sakura Haruno's apprenticeship, obtained 5 (8) = 40 Witness Points.
Tsk, flawless.
With the Witness Points successfully harvested, Ryo fell into brief contemplation before flicking his wrist to materialize three exceptionally thick books from his pocket space.
The three children exchanged a look, entirely swimming in confusion. Ryo was actually forcing them to read books for their very first training block?
"Sakura, every single one of these three volumes belongs to you."
"Huh?" Sakura stood entirely dumbfounded. Combined, these three books easily totaled over three thousand pages, didn't they? Even for an absolute academic prodigy like her, mastering these details would easily consume a year or two...
"Thoroughly mastering the contents contained within these pages will grant you a solid fifty percent baseline of the Great Ancestor's peak proficiency. If you run into elements you fail to parse, come ask me at any given moment. Guard them with absolute care; this is a repository the Great Ancestor painstakingly synthesized with immense effort. They are highly precious!"
"Synthesized with immense effort?" Sakura's mouth stretched wide with shock.
"Mmm, immense effort," Ryo nodded with an exceptionally solemn countenance. Yesterday evening, he had literally deployed a hundred Shadow Clones inside his pocket space to continuously write for a solid night, working with absolute diligence...
"Prioritize studying that volume regarding Medical Ninjutsu first. Once you master the Chakra Scalpel and command a baseline of offensive output, transition to practicing fine Chakra Control. The subsequent trajectory... mmm, the Great Ancestor will systematically map out based on your practical mastery baseline. I expect you to entirely finish these three volumes within two years!"
"Yes, Master!"
Ryo waved his hand: "Take the books and depart. If you run into details you fail to grasp, track me down at Training Ground 7. Neji, Hinata, you two don't need to read books. Accompany me to engage in a sparring session."
"A sparring session? Against Brother Neji?" Hinata manifested a trace of a lack of self-confidence. Neji turned his head to offer her a warm, gentle smile as encouragement...
Konoha Training Ground 7.
"Not bad, that striking palm strike just now was quite decent, it's beginning to display a trace of flavour. Let's execute it one more time," Ryo spoke with a beaming smile, standing opposite Hinata with his dual arms folded behind his back.
Hinata wiped away the perspiration lining her forehead, dropping back into the standard Gentle Fist starting stance to focus her mind before charging to launch an attack toward Ryo.
On the other side of the clearing, Neji was currently engaging in a frantic sparring match against a massive wooden pillar with a diameter of a hundred centimeters that Ryo had manufactured via Wood Style, his palms slamming against the wood in a rhythmic sequence.
Watching Ryo feed Hinata combat responses for the nth consecutive time while entirely ignoring his position, Neji felt that Ryo was definitively and deliberately forcing him to independently practice his Byakugan parameters...
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